Getting Ready

Last week when I visited Andy and Lizzie to learn about sap gathering I got a tour of some of the farm. The greenhouse was our first stop.

This is the gerninator.  As you can see, good choice of building materials from Lowe's.  If I understand Andy's instructions...Lizzie plants the seeds and then the tray of seeds are placed on a shelf over a pan of water.  The lid is shut and then a lit lantern is placed thru the hole in the side.  The heat from the lantern warms the water making steam to moisten the soil to germinate the seeds.

I am guessing when I tell you that these are cabbage plants.  I will have better luck on my next visit to Cedarmore Farm because my Dad sent me his old pocket tape recorder.  So now I will have all my facts straight.

Once the seedlings come up Lizzie starts to thin them out and the thinned out plants are planted in other trays.  Nothing goes to waste.  I do know that the tall thin plants are just one of the varieties of tomatoes that are being grown.

This is the stove that keeps the greenhouse warm.  Andy told me that because of the weather we have been having he has not had to use the stove much this winter.  As long as the sun is out, even on the cloudy, dreary day that I was there, it still keeps it warm enough for the plants.  80 degrees is optimum.

Andy feeds the fire from the outside.  He chuckled and says that he needs to build a larger greenhouse closer to the house.  Please realize that during the winter he has to come out side maybe several time a day and night to keep the fires going.  He'd like a shorter walk.

When you first drive into the farm property you see rows and rows of plants coming up thru black plastic.  This is this seasons garlic crop.  There must have been twenty rows coming up.

Spring crops that are planned are beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, cucumbers, lettuce, onions, radishes, strawberries, summer squash, tomatoes and zucchini.

If you need more information there are two way to go about getting it...email or leave a comment and we will get back to you.

 cedarmorefarm@tdisp.com 

I am already looking forward to my next trip to Cedarmore Farm.  This is such a great learning experience for all of us non-farmers.  And not to forget all the new friends I am meeting along the way.  Andy and Lizzie might make a farmer and a baker out of me yet.

Come join the CSA or check out one in your neighborhood.  It is a good thing.